My wife and I argue about this every time we see a Mach-E on the road. She says Ford shouldn’t have called it a Mustang. I say if they called it anything else, nobody would’ve cared about it. What’s in a name? If it’s the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, more than you think, apparently.
The Mach-E hit the scene just two years ago, much to the delight (or dismay) of Mustang enthusiasts everywhere. Depending on which camp you find yourself in, the Mach-E was either a blessing or a curse to the Mustang name by virtue of simply being a swift electric SUV bearing a pony badge. Whether or not you agree with what Ford ended up calling it, one thing’s for sure: the Mustang Mach-E turns heads and gets people talking, though two years later, the playing field is a bit more crowded.
Ford diversifies the Mach-E lineup with two battery pack options, and lets you choose between rear- or all-wheel-drive on most trims. The standard configuration is a 70 kWh battery pack working with an electric motor on the rear axle, rated at a respectable 266 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Opt for the extended range option, and you get a 90 kWh battery and a slight power bump, to 290 hp. AWD Mach-Es with the 70 kWh battery are rated at 266 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque, and once again, stepping up to the 90 kWh battery brings a power bump, this time to 346 horses.
Our particular tester, the top-dog Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, is the spiciest of the bunch. It’s rated at 480 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque, and Ford says it does the zero-to-100 km/h sprint in 3.7 seconds. Though I didn’t break out the stopwatch to verify, the Mach-E certainly feels as quick as the numbers suggest, but it’s the power delivery that’s most surprising. You still get that wallop of instant torque when you floor it off the line, but where the skinny pedal can feel like a nauseating on/off switch in other performance-oriented EVs, the Mach-E feels much more linear. It masks its speed very well, though performance does tend to fall flat above the 120 km/h mark.
Beyond the beans, the Mach-E is a surprisingly deft corner-carver. Its generous grip and low centre-of-gravity — the wide Pirelli P-Zero summer rubber and batteries making up most of the floor plan play big roles here — lets you push the Mach-E hard into a tight on-ramp, staying composed and flat all the way through. It’s also surprisingly tail-happy — nudge nudge, wink wink — and you can choose between four drive modes that tailor the Mach-E’s responsiveness, soundtrack, and stability and traction control intervention. For something that weighs in at just under 5,000 pounds — 4,989, to be exact — the Mach-E shouldn’t boogie as well as it does.
When you’re not acting like a hooligan, the Mach-E settles down nicely. It rides a little firm, but it’s not overly stiff. Steering feels numb and artificial, but it’s light and accurate, making the Mach-E easy to pilot around town. Wind and road noise are well-hushed, too, and visibility all around is excellent. Our particular tester was also fitted with Ford’s full suite of active safety and driving assists including BlueCruise, Ford’s automated driving doohickey that essentially drives the Mach-E for you on highways. It works remarkably well, once you get over the initial nerve-wracking obstacle of taking your hands off the steering wheel at highway speeds.
Generally, the penalty you pay with performance-oriented EVs is range, and the Mach-E GT is no exception. Officially, Ford quotes a more-than-reasonable 418 kilometres, but the best we managed to squeeze out was 246 kilometres before plugging in with another 18 left. It’s a well-known fact that cold weather wreaks havoc on EV range, and having sampled this particular Mach-E GT Performance in the chilly late autumn air — with temperatures near the freezing mark for most of the week — we were prepared for this. But we weren’t expecting it to be that far off Ford’s estimates. For those seeking the most range, the California Route 1 trim is your best bet, with Ford quoting a 502-kilometre figure.
Name aside, perhaps the second most contentious point about the Mustang Mach-E is the styling. By virtue of it being a blob-shaped SUV, the Mach-E looks nothing like the Mustangs we’re used to. At best, Ford has baked in some Mustang-inspired design cues such as the tri-bar tail lights, and the Performance Edition trim takes it a step further with a more aggressive front end, 21-inch multi-spoke wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, and wild colour options to stand out from the rest of the blobs-on-wheels dominating our roads. Besides, I’m sure the inherent practicality of an SUV isn’t lost on the Mustang fans who had a ‘68 Fastback back in the day, but can’t quite live with a new one on account of their hips or knees.
Inside, the Mach-E’s cabin feels bright and airy owing to the optional glass roof. Visibility all around is great, material quality feels top-notch, and it’s easy to get comfortable, but we did note some fit-and-finish issues around the cargo area, though that could be isolated to our particular tester. A portrait-oriented 15.5-inch touchscreen running Ford’s Sync 4 software handles infotainment; it’s intuitive, responsive, and the central dial doubles as a volume and temperature knob. There’s plenty of storage and passenger space regardless of where you sit, and cargo space punches in at a respectable 840 litres with the rear seats up, and 1,685 L when stowed.
At $93,195 as-tested, the Mach-E GT Performance doesn’t come cheap. Two years ago, that might’ve been good value — a comparable Tesla Model Y was well over the $100,000 mark — but if you don’t mind slightly less cargo space, newcomers like the Kia EV6 GT and the Genesis GV60 Performance offer nine-tenths of the Mach-E’s performance for less money.
Depending on how you look at it, the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition is either a slight on the Mustang name, or a brilliant marketing exercise because, clearly, some people are still fighting about what it should’ve been called. Whichever camp you find yourself in, the Mach-E’s true character shines through as a roomy and swift EV that puts a big smile on your face both in a straight line, and through a corner or two. Just be mindful of how far you have to drive.
